flag officer
Americannoun
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a naval officer above the rank of captain, such as a fleet admiral, admiral, vice-admiral, rear admiral, or commodore, who is entitled to display a flag indicating their rank.
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(formerly) an officer in command of a fleet, squadron, or group of ships.
noun
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an officer in certain navies of the rank of rear admiral or above and entitled to fly its flag
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the head of a boat or yacht club
Etymology
Origin of flag officer
First recorded in 1655–65
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The only U.S. flag officer to win a Pulitzer, Adm.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 17, 2026
Navy’s senior officers, is one notch below rear admiral, the lowest-ranking flag officer.
From Slate • Jan. 13, 2026
He wrote that “the size of the general and flag officer corps has become increasingly out of balance with the size of the force it leads.”
From Washington Times • Jan. 29, 2023
He distinguished himself at the Pentagon even before he attained flag officer rank.
From Seattle Times • Nov. 4, 2021
“Major Kinnaird was a flag officer of a rather famous yacht club,” said the lady, who, while she fancied that her companion meant to avoid the issue, could not let this pass.
From The Gold Trail by Bindloss, Harold
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
